Nouveaux Frères
by Chellepo1977
Summary: Part of the RJD Trope Thursday’s Richonne Writing Network Challenge. Prompt category: AU. Prompt Name: Parent Trap. Carl and Andre embark on their own mission impossible and Rick and Michonne are the unwitting prime targets. Will their plan work?


Nouveaux Frères

Première Phase

Rick followed his son through the narrow hallways of King County Elementary School, headed toward his 3rd grade classroom. His teacher, Mrs. Peltier, was having a Career Day and Carl had practically begged him to come. "You're a cop, dad! Your job has to be cooler than the other kid's parents!"

While he was all about doing things for the kids, Rick wasn't looking forward to standing in front of a group of eight year olds who probably only wanted to talk about his gun and chasing bad guys. But Carl was so excited about it and ever since his mom passed away two years ago, that level of excitement was few and far between.

They finally made it to the classroom and Carl pulled him straight to the back of the room where a handful of parents were sitting with their kids. Once there, he watched in confusion as his son tried to call dibs of four seats in the front row.

"I don't think we need all four seats, son…" Carl frowned and sat in one chair with his arm across the one to the right and his leg across the one to the left.

"I'm saving a seat for Andre. He's bringing his mom because she's a lawyer and really cool!" Rick nodded and sat in the fourth chair that was out of Carl's reach. Ever since the beginning of the school year, Andre was all Carl talked about. He was Carl's new best friend all the way from Atlanta and the greatest thing since comic books and video games. He'd been over to the house nearly everyday after school but usually when his sister, Maggie, was watching Carl after school while he worked. But the times he'd been around him, Andre had been the perfect kid. Carl had made a good choice for his first best friend.

"Andre's mom is really cool, huh?", he asked even though he already knew the answer. Carl talked about Andre's mother with the same energy that he talked about Andre.

Rick tried to remember if he'd ever met the woman, but he kept coming up empty. Oddly enough, their paths had never crossed except for a few hurried waves through car windows when dropping off or picking up their kids. It was strange considering how much time her son spent at his house, but Maggie had given Andre's Mom the Grimes seal of approval so he hadn't worried too much about Carl spending so much time at Andre's house. From the way Maggie gushed about her, he could tell that Andre's mom had probably reached the same conclusion about Andre spending time at his house.

"Yeah, she's really funny and she likes comic books and she makes really good chocolate chip cookies", Carl answered with an enthusiastic nod.

"Well those are all very important qualities…", he said with a smile. "How about I save these two and you save those two?" Carl nodded and sat up straight in one chair and eagerly started watching the door. "You're awfully excited about career day. Last year, you didn't even want me to come."

"I know. I just think it'll be fun this year." Rick didn't know what had caused his son's change of heart but he was glad for it even though he was aware that it probably had more to do with Andre than anything else.

Only a few minutes passed before Carl practically leapt to his feet and started waving his arm above his head.

"Andre! I saved you a seat!" He followed Carl's line of sight to the front of the room where the boy about the same size as Carl with curly dark hair and big brown eyes was smiling widely as he walked toward them. One thing he knew about Andre was that he was always smiling and it was practically infectious.

Then he noticed the woman Andre was tugging along behind him. Everything started to move in slow motion as he tried to take her all in and it was almost too much…she was almost too much. Her yellow business suit highlighted her curvy body and made her rich mahogany complexion radiant like she was lit from within. Her hair was styled in dreadlocks that she'd tied back away from her stunning face and her warm, dark eyes.

He tried his best not to be that creepy guy but he couldn't help but stare. She had to be the most gorgeous woman he'd ever seen. He was so caught up with watching her that he'd missed all of the introductions and greetings until he heard his name.

"Hi Deputy Grimes!" He blinked out of his thoughts and grinned down at Andre.

"Nice to see you again, Andre. You been practicing that spiral I showed you?", he asked.

"Yeah! I can throw it all the way across the yard now", Andre answered with an enthusiastic nod.

"That's good! You'll have to show me sometime", he said before daring to look up and make eye contact with the woman standing patiently behind her son.

"I will! Deputy Grimes…this is my mom", He prayed his hand wasn't sweaty as he extended it toward the first woman to make him nervous in a very long time.

"Hi, Ms. Anthony. I'm Rick", he said.

"Call me Michonne. You and your son are all I hear about at home", she said, making his breath catch in his throat. Her voice was soft but deep; melodic but deliberate. It suited her.

"Same thing at my house. Carl finally found someone who likes comic books as much as he does...sometimes I'm not sure if he means you or Andre", he said, shaking himself out of his reverie.

"Carl is a great kid…", she said with a wide, toothy grin.

"So is yours…", he agreed.

The boys sat side by side and left two empty seats right next to each other for their parents.

"It kinda blows my mind that we've never met…", she said, sitting down next to Andre. He took the seat on the other side and angled his body toward her.

"Yeah…I work crazy shifts but thankfully my sister Maggie is able to help me out most days…", he said and she nodded her understanding.

"It doesn't help that I'm usually pulling into your driveway and texting Andre to come out…" He laughed at her calling herself out.

"No…but I'm guilty of doing the same thing", he said. She raised her expertly arched eyebrow at him and her lips curved into a grin.

"How about we both make an effort to at least come to the door every now and then…", she suggested.

"I think I can do that", he agreed. He also promised himself that he would go up to her door every time he went to her house to pick up Carl.

Carl and Andre's conversation pulled her in for a minute and after correcting them on a piece of Batman trivia, she turned back to him with a far away look in her eyes.

"Andre was so worried about making friends when we moved here and his worry made me worry. But then he found Carl and he seems even happier than he was in Atlanta", she mused and he understood what it was like to want nothing more than for your kid to be happy.

"Carl seems different too. They're good for each other. Maybe because they both went through the same kind of thing…" He worried for a moment about bringing up something so personal. The only reason he knew that Andre's dad had passed away was because Carl told him and it was that same day that he stepped in to teach Andre how to throw a perfect spiral.

"That's very true…", she sighed, giving him a small smile. "…I'm sure it's good for both of them to be around someone who understands."

"Yeah…", he said as the sound of Ms. Peltier's bell forced him to drag his eyes away from her.

"All right everyone! Let's get started with Career Day! First up we have Andre Anthony and his mom to tell us what it's like to be a lawyer." Andre stood up and ran to the front of the room and he watched as Michonne stood to follow. She'd taken two steps when she turned around and gave him a heart-stopping smile.

"I guess that's my cue...I have to leave right after I'm done up there but it was really nice meeting you, Rick."

He nodded slowly and smiled back.

"Same here, Michonne."

Phase Deux

"You promised we could get pizza today, dad…" Rick should've known there was no way Carl was going to forget he'd plied him with promises of pizza to get him to go shopping with him for Maggie's birthday gift. A deep seeded hatred of shopping was one quality Carl had inherited from him.

"I know…pepperoni bacon?", he asked as they curved their path so they were headed toward Rhee's Pizza.

"Pepperoni sausage!", Carl answered as they walked into the restaurant where Glenn, the owner, greeted them.

"How's it going, Grimes guys?" Rick watched as Carl ran up and gave Glenn a high-five.

"We're good…just out shopping for a birthday present for Maggie…" Rick smiled at the faint blush that appeared on Glenn's cheeks. He'd been dating Maggie for a few years and, according to Maggie, should be thinking about proposing.

"Yeah, I picked up something a few weeks ago…", Glenn mumbled nervously, grabbing a couple of menus, "…are you two eating here or going home?"

"Here", Carl shouted, taking one of the menus Glenn was holding and ran over to the table right in front of the window. Rick could only shrug and sigh.

"I guess we're eating here", he said and Glenn patted him on the shoulder in a show of support.

"All right…let me grab these pizzas out of the oven and I'll be right over." Rick nodded and joined Carl at the table.

"Look, dad! It's Andre and his mom!" Before he could respond, Carl jumped out of his seat and ran over to his friend.

It had been two weeks since Career Day and he hadn't seen Andre's mother since that day. He'd been at work late working with the new recruits leaving Maggie mostly responsible for Carl's afternoon care.

As Carl and Andre talked at about 1500 miles a minute, she walked over to his table with a brilliant smile that beckoned him to his feet.

"Hi Rick," she said, her voice making him feel things he hadn't in a very long time.

"Hi Michonne…is it pizza night for you guys too?", he asked and she nodded; her locs falling across her eyes as she did so.

"We usually order pizza and watch a movie on Saturday nights but Andre wanted to go to the comic shop, so here we are…" Glenn emerged from the kitchen and came over to them.

"Hey Ms. Anthony. No delivery this week?" Glenn asked.

"Hey, Glenn! We were in town so I figured we'd just stop by," she answered.

"Are you guys staying?" Michonne started to shake her head but Andre grabbed her around the waist in a bear hug.

"Can we please stay and eat here? Please mom…" He was looking up at his mother with big puppy dog eyes and Rick laughed to himself under his breath. She was getting the full-force child pleading treatment and he'd been there himself plenty of times.

He didn't get to enjoy it not being him for too long because Carl jumped in as Andre's wingman.

"They could just sit with us, right dad?" Carl was looking up at him with that same puppy dog look Andre was giving Michonne and he shifted his eyes to meet hers.

"Y'all are welcome to join us…", he offered, "…and before you say it, you're not imposing." There was a pause as he stared a little too long into her eyes and willed her to stay.

"I guess we're staying…", she said, looking back over to Glenn who was looking very amused at the entire scenario.

"Awesome! Let's get those orders…," he grinned.

Less than an hour later, the large half pepperoni with Italian sausage and half supreme pizza they ordered was demolished and Rick was left at the table with Michonne while the boys along with Glenn, fiddled with the old Pac-Man game at the back of the restaurant. He'd swiped the bill when it came much to her dismay and after a bit of back and forth, she agreed to let him pay if she could leave the tip.

He was signing the credit card receipt and Michonne was leaning back in her chair with her hands adorably on her stomach like she was more full than she'd ever been in her life.

"You good over there?", he asked and she laughed almost painfully.

"That was so good", she moaned, "That was my first pizza with veggies on it in a very long time so thank you for suggesting the supreme."

"I only get to have it if I come in here for lunch when I'm on duty. Carl is vegetable resistant and I'm always pushing him to eat them, so I try to give him a break when it comes to pizza", he explained.

"Andre loves veggies just not on pizza…he's such a weirdo sometimes", she said with a laugh and he loved the sound of it.

"Mine too. Maybe that's why they're friends", he joked.

"Maybe…"

"So what brought you King County,", he asked, wanting to know a little more about the woman he'd just enjoyed every minute of dinner with.

"We needed a fresh start. Atlanta had become a little too much after Mike…Andre's father…passed away", she explained, the pain still etched in her features.

He sighed and nodded. "I get it. After my wife passed, everything around here reminded me of her. If I could've moved away, I probably would've."

"Why didn't you?" She asked.

His answer was simple. "My family is here and I didn't want to take anyone else away from Carl."

She nodded; more in understanding than agreement. "I didn't have any family in Atlanta but my grandmother lives here so that's the reason I looked for a law firm in King County."

"Your grandmother is Miss Gladys, right?"

Her eyes widened and her smile crept back onto her face. "Yes! How did you know?"

"Everybody knows Miss Gladys and she's been bragging about you for years," he said and she covered her face with her hand in embarrassment.

"Lord, she's something else…", she mumbled and he agreed. Miss Gladys had been talking about her granddaughter the lawyer for a long time. Michonne virtually walked on water in her eyes and Rick could definitely see why. "Have you lived here your whole life?" She asked.

"Yes. My dad was a cop, his dad was a cop...it's kind of the family business. It's probably going to end with me though. Carl wants to be an astronaut."

Her genuine laugh filled the air around them and she rested her chin on her palm. "Andre wants to be an archeologist. We watched Indiana Jones a few weeks ago and he's completely obsessed with it now. I tried to tell him that's not really what archaeologists do but he isn't having it."

"They'll both change their minds about a dozen times before it's over with. I wanted to be James Bond when I was their age," he confessed.

"Really? I wanted to be one of Charlie's Angels so maybe we could've teamed up...," she offered and he knew he would've taken her up on it.

"I would've liked that…," he grinned.

She was grinning back at him and he was very quickly being sucked in by her eyes.

"I...oh crap. Is it really 7:30?" She asked.

"I think so…", he answered, looking at his watch because he'd completely lost track of time from the moment she agreed to share his table. His words propelled her to her feet and she pulled a few bills out of her wallet to leave for Glenn.

"I'm sorry…we were supposed to stop by and see grandma Gladys on our way home…", she said, glancing back to where their boys were playing. "Andre! Hustle up, we have to go."

"But mom…", Andre whined as he and Carl dragged themselves back over to the table.

"We have to go see grandma Gladys, remember? Say good night to Carl and make sure you thank Deputy Grimes for dinner." Andre turned to Carl with a sad look in his eyes and waved his hand.

"Aww man…bye Carl", he said, "Thank you for dinner, Deputy Grimes." It was the first time in the nearly 3 months he'd known Andre that the kid didn't have a smile on his face.

"You're welcome, Andre", he said, "and maybe we can do it again sometime…" Even though that statement was made to make Andre feel better, he hoped that it was true. A brief smile crossed both kid's faces and Rick saw them exchange a look he didn't quite understand.

Michonne placed a hand on her son's shoulder and guided him toward the door. Her eyes were apologetic when she glanced back at him before walking out the door.

"Rick…thank you for dinner and the conversation…"

"The pleasure was all mine," he smiled, squashing down his regret as she dashed out the door.

Phase Trois

His eyes widened when he opened the door to find Andre's mom standing on his porch. He ran a hand through his hair and cleared his throat. "Michonne…hi."

"Hi, I promise I'm not being a worried mom…Andre called me. He forgot a very important video game," she explained, looking more apologetic than she needed to.

He folded his arms across his chest and nodded, "That is definitely an emergency! Come on in…"

She shook her head and held the game out for him to take. "I can just give it to you…I don't want to interrupt anything…"

He raised an eyebrow and smirked, "All you're interrupting is me eating dinner alone since the boys went outside to eat in the tent and apparently, dad's aren't allowed in there. I grilled burgers…"

She closed her eyes and cringed playfully. "I know. The smell has been making my stomach growl the whole time I've been standing here…"

He was quickly getting caught up in how pretty she was and that's what drove him to put on a half smile and lean against the doorframe. "If you come in here and eat with me, I guarantee it'll stop growling."

He could tell she was pretending to think about it before she smiled at him and made his breath catch in his throat. "Since you put it like that, how can I refuse?"

He answered her smile with one of his own and stepped to the side to let her enter his home. As she walked past him, he caught a whiff of her sweet perfume and he had to remind himself that she was Andre's mom not a date.

They ate at the bar in the kitchen. She sat on a barstool while he stood leaning across the bar. They talked about their jobs, their kids, their lives…and when they were done, they kept right on talking. He learned that she hated cooked tomatoes, loved baseball, and that her laugh was the most beautiful sound he'd ever heard.

The moment she happened to catch a glimpse of the clock on the microwave and rose from her seat insisting she had to go, made an inexplicable feeling of loss overwhelm him. It had been a long time since he'd spent time alone with a woman that he was attracted to and he didn't want it to end but he didn't know how to begin to ask her to stay.

He was in the middle of a severe internal debate when it was his turn to catch a glimpse of something.

He wrinkled his eyebrows and lifted the game case from the counter. "Is this the game Andre said he forgot?"

She nodded. "Yeah. Super Mario Odyssey is his favorite right now. He said he was supposed to bring it so Carl could play it."

He chewed on his lip as the pieces of the puzzle slowly started to fall into place in his head. "That's interesting...I bought that game for Carl last week," he said.

She frowned and put her hands on her hips. "So why did he want me to bring his…," He saw the exact moment when it all started coming together for her too. "…oh my god. It all makes sense now…," she gasped.

He nodded and put the game back on the counter. "They both insisted we go to career day and conned us into sitting side by side…"

She was pacing and her eyes were brimming with questions. "…we both showed up at Rhee's for pizza at the exact same time and they conveniently left us alone while they played Pac-Man. Andre hates old video games…"

"Carl too…now, Andre asks you to bring over a game Carl already has…" He rubbed the back of his neck as he reached the only conclusion he possibly could. "I think we got played by a couple of eight year olds," he concluded.

She pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed, "Yeah…are we that pathetic that our sons felt the need to play matchmaker?"

"Apparently," he agreed.

"So what do we do now? Call them in here and tell them it's not appropriate to try to get your parents to hook up?" She was standing in front of him with her arms across her chest and even though it really wasn't the time, he was staring at her lips and wondering what it would feel like to kiss those lips.

She was staring at him and he realized he had to say something. "We could do that…or…"

She narrowed her eyes. "Or?"

"Or…we could give em what they want...you know, try it out…," he shrugged.

There was a long pause as his suggestion hung in the air between them. "Deputy Grimes, are you asking me out on a date?" She finally asked, taking another step forward and closing the distance between them a little more.

He nodded and allowed his eyes to meet hers for the first time since their conversation headed down that path. "Our kids might be on to something and I think we owe it to them to find out for sure," he argued.

She laughed under her breath and cocked her head to one side. "Well…when you put it like that…how can I say no?"

Any space between them was gone and he felt her breath tickling his face nudging him to lean forward even more so the tips of their noses were touching. She was looking at him from underneath her eyelashes and her lips curved into a soft smile before she gently pressed them against his, sparking him to life. His hands drifted to her waist, holding her in place as they sealed the deal with a kiss drenched in promises of things to come.

It was mostly chaste and it only lasted a few seconds, but it told him everything he needed to know. When they finally broke apart, he opened his eyes and saw from the wonder etched acros her features that she'd been struck by the same lightning bolt that had hit him.

Their sons giving each other high fives over her shoulder pulled him out of the moment sooner than he wanted, even though he was nearly bursting with their same excitement.

Chuckling softly, he whispered, "We have company…"

She rolled her eyes and sighed, "Andre, Carl…we know about your plan and you can stop now," she said.

The boys were still giggling so he decided to follow up her words with a few of his own. "Yeah…game over, ok? You guys win."

"No way!!" Andre shouted.

Carl nodded. "Operation Nouveaux Frères isn't over till we're brothers," he shouted.

"With bunk beds!" Andre added as they ran back outside laughing uncontrollably.

She shook her head with a surprised chuckle making him even more confused.

"How is my son speaking French?" He asked.

"Andre must have taught him. I've been teaching him since he was little..."

Her explanation trailed off like there was more. "And what does nouveaux frères mean exactly?" He prodded.

She brought her eyes up to meet his and he could see both the surprise and the unbridled amusement making them wide and bright.

"It means...new brothers," she said, and the realization of just how much thought Carl and Andre had obviously put a lot of thought into their plan washed over him.

"Now I understand the bunk bed comment…," he mused.

She turned away from him and started heading for the back door. "We should talk to them. You know...let them know we're not going to be shopping for bunk beds any time soon…"

He reached out and took hold of her hand to stop her progress. He moved in front of her and threaded their fingers together before giving her a half smile.

"Or…you could help me find a show to binge on Netflix while I stay up all night keeping an eye on our meddling kids camping in the backyard."

It took a minute, but her lips eventually curved into the smile he was quickly falling for. "I like that idea. You make the coffee…," she suggested.

He nodded, "…and you pick the show."

A few hours later, the third episode of the show she'd picked had ended and Netflix was asking if they wanted to continue watching. Her head was resting against his shoulder and her soft breathing was the only sound in the room. She'd fallen asleep halfway through the last episode and he didn't wake her because he liked having her body pressed against his even if it was in an innocent way.

He glanced out the window to the tent where Carl and Andre were supposed to be sleeping and decided that he should go out there and check on them even though he already knew they were either passed out in a junk food coma or reading comic books by flashlight. Carefully, he slid over and guided her head down to rest on the cushion before standing, and covered her with the plaid throw they kept on the back of the sofa. She stirred a little, and he held his breath until he was sure he hadn't woken her up.

Quietly, he walked outside and over to the tent and saw that his second theory was correct. They were lying on their stomachs reading a comic book with the flashlight between them.

"Y'all good in here?" He asked.

Carl barely looked up from the comic book. "Yeah, dad. We're fine," he answered.

"Ok…you know I'm right in there on the sofa if you need anything…" He was backing out of the tent when Andre looked up at him with his soft brown eyes that reminded him of the boy's mother.

"Deputy Grimes? You're not mad at us for trying to get you and my mom together are you?" Andre asked.

Rick sighed and shook his head. "No…but can I ask you guys why you did it?"

"Carl thinks my mom is really cool and I think you're really cool…," Andre explained, pausing just long enough for Carl to jump in.

"…and we both think that you and Ms. Anthony spend so much time making sure we're happy and you don't think about if you're happy."

"So since both of you are so cool, we thought you guys could help each other be happy like you've helped us," Andre finished, leaving him wondering how in the world those two boys had gotten so smart and insightful. He knew Andre had probably gotten it from Michonne but there was no way Carl got that from him.

"Yeah and if you guys got married, we'd be brothers and that would be so awesome!" They went back to their comic, leaving him with the weight of their reasoning. The kids were right. It was time for both him and Michonne to move a little bit of their focus from their kids to themselves.

"Good night, guys. Don't stay up reading comics all night," he whispered, leaning over to ruffle Carl's hair before doing the same to Andre.

"Good night!!" Their voices came in unison as he backed out of the tent and headed back to the house where Michonne was still sleeping on the sofa as he left her. He leaned against the door frame and sighed as he folded his arms over his chest and watched her sleep; marveling over just how much he was looking forward to getting to know her better…

…and if things went the way he hoped they did, he'd buy Carl and Andre the best bunk beds he could find.

fin


End file.
